Tag: Family

On our way!

I’m writing this at 30,000 feet, somewhere over the midwest. We’re on our way to our layover in Atlanta, where we’ll catch our flight to Madrid at about 6 pm. Flying through the night, we’ll arrive in Madrid at 8:30 tomorrow morning.

We had a nice visit with Meg, Marley, Eliah & Louisa in Boulder last night and this morning. Mallory made sliders (White Castle-style mini burgers, made with Liza’s beef) for dinner, and they were fabulous. We even had time for one last quick 12-mile ride with Meg and Lou before dinner!

Speaking of riding, I just checked, and we rode every day for the last ten days, totaling 155.69 miles, including 7,495 feet of ascent and 6,579 feet of descent (I can never figure out why those numbers are different; just the vagaries of GPS?). Anyway, not bad, eh? I think our butts are gonna be ready this time.

Here’s a screenshot of all but our first of the last ten rides, taken from the Cyclemeter app I use when we’re riding:

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Getting in shape for the trip…

Our six day self-guided bike trip (from May 4th through 9th) in the Cantabria region of northern Spain will entail 30 to 40 mile days on the bike. If there’s one thing we learned from the Ireland trip, it’s that we weren’t in shape for those kinds of days! It worked out okay in the end, but man were we tired and sore by the end.

So this time we plan to be ready. We’ve been going to spin classes all winter (Mallory more consistently than I, in all honesty), and for the last ten days before we leave we’re riding as far as possible every day.

The weather hasn’t exactly cooperated, but it’s good training for the possibility of frequent showers in Cantabria. The first ride, last Saturday, was a good example. We rode to the top of Cty Rd 24 and started out in sleet, alternating with groppel. The road was really muddy at first, though it was dry for the last couple of miles to the top. When we turned for home on Hwy 62, we were quickly riding into freezing rain combined with a headwind! Needless to say, we were soaked by the time we got home.

A few days later we rode to the top of Log Hill and back. Here’s a view from Cty Rd 1, near the top. Note the snow in the trees near the bottom of the frame!

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